IIn the trial for the theft from the Green Vault in Dresden, the public prosecutor’s office classified the statements of the accused as insufficient. “The confessions are incomplete and not credible,” said senior public prosecutor Christian Kohle on Thursday in the Dresden district court.
This would not fulfill an essential pillar of the agreement, which promises the accused, who belong to the partly criminal Remmo clan, a penalty discount in return for the return of part of the loot and credible confessions. Contrary to what had been agreed, the accused did not provide any specific information on the preparation, the course of the crime and the aftermath of the crime. “Rather, we have the impression that the accused want to distribute their contributions to the crime in such a way that the punishment is bearable for everyone,” said Kohle.
Lots of questions, lots of downtime
At the same time, he criticized the court, which asks the accused questions about the confessions as a collection list and then grants them and their defense lawyers up to 30 minutes to answer. On Thursday it played out like this: The presiding judge asked one of the six accused questions about the preparation of the crime, then there was a time-out.
Following his defense counsel’s reply, the Associate Judge asked questions, after which there was again a time-out to answer. Then the presiding judge asked questions again, this time about the night of the crime, after which there was another time-out, then it was the turn of the public prosecutor’s office and so on.
Apart from the fact that the negotiation is being lengthened as a result, it is a mystery how the credibility of the statements can be clarified without a confrontational questioning, said Kohle. The probative value of such prepared answers is greatly reduced from the outset. The defense attorneys, on the other hand, had originally demanded that questions only be received in writing, which they then wanted to answer in writing by the next day of the trial. The court rejected that.
Defense attorneys have denied the prosecutor’s allegations. Although the depth of the confessions varies, they contain a large number of details and go “far beyond a mere acknowledgment of the crime”. However, the inquiries should “not be aimed at a comprehensive clarification of the crime or at further investigations”.
When asked about the whereabouts of the loot, the oldest defendant explained on Thursday that no immediate disposal of the jewels was planned. He himself thought he would be a millionaire after the burglary. However, any defendants who agreed to return the jewelry to close a deal would have had to forego claims from the remainder of the loot. He doesn’t know where she went.
